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Almost two-thirds of respondents said the federal government should be taking a leadership role in reducing emissions, compared with 28 per cent who think it should await an international consensus. Just 7 per cent said the government should do nothing.

Ms Oliver said the swing to greater concern could gather momentum if heat records kept occurring, Australia returned to drought under the influence of an El Nino and Mr Obama's emissions cuts added impetus to the 2015 climate summit in Paris, where countries are aiming to sign a climate treaty.

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''These are certainly going to be topical issues for the [Australian] government to address in the coming year,'' Ms Oliver said.

Mr Obama on Monday unveiled America's most ambitious climate policy with plans to cut emissions by power plants by 30 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030.

His failure in 2009 to get congressional support for a carbon price pushed him to use regulation to force the cuts.

On Tuesday Reuters reported that China, the world's biggest emitter of climate-changing greenhouse gases, would follow the US announcement by for the first time putting a limit on its carbon dioxide emissions.

The target would be written into China's next five-year plan, which comes into force in 2016, a government adviser said.

Energy consultants Pitt & Sherry said Australian electricity sector emissions were already falling faster than proposed under Mr Obama's plan due to the carbon tax and slumping demand.

Since demand peaked in 2008 the sector's emissions have dived 17 per cent.

''We've done about half of [Obama's goal] in less than half the time,'' said Pitt & Sherry principal consultant Hugh Saddler.

''But [the Abbott government] wants to put in place policies that will reverse that.''

Electricity emissions are down 17.2 million tonnes, about 11 per cent, since the carbon price started in July 2012, Mr Saddler said.

Policies likely to prompt a return to coal including rising gas prices and the likelihood the government will weaken the Renewable Energy Target (RET), Dr Saddler said.

The International Energy Agency warned on Tuesday the likely energy investments out to 2035 would lift global temperatures at least 3.6 degrees.

Last year, more than $1.1 trillion (A$1.19 trillion) was poured into fossil fuels, or quadruple the $US250 billion invested in clean energy sources, the IEA said.

To keep warming to within the 2-degrees globally agreed goal, annual investment in low-carbon energy would need to rise to $US900 billion and spending on energy efficiency should top $US1 trillion by 2035, said IEA chief economist, Fatih Birol.

Policymakers “need to provide clear and credible signals that lower risks and inspire confidence if we are to switch investment to low-carbon sources and energy efficiency at the necessary scale and speed,” Dr Birol told Fairfax Media.